Over 4,000 Mainers filed new claims for jobless benefits last week, even as the state prepared to allow the vast majority of businesses to open back up.
unemployment
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine extends maximum length of jobless benefits by 13 weeks
Out-of-work Mainers can now receive as many as 39 consecutive weeks of benefits through state and federal assistance programs.
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Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
State’s fraud investigations have derailed some Mainers’ federal unemployment benefits
The short-staffed Maine Department of Labor has had to delay payments and a program for those who have exhausted benefits, the state’s labor commissioner told lawmakers Thursday.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Rep. Fecteau: Unemployment system failed Mainers in 2017 and once more in 2020
Though $802 million in benefits have been paid out, too many Mainers remain in limbo because of a faulty system installed under the LePage administration.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine jobless rate falls to 9.3%, but data obscure magnitude of job losses
If not for tens of thousands of workers who were misclassified or not counted as unemployed in May, the official rate would be 18 percent.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Most employers not taking advantage of state program to retain workers
The problem could be that few know about WorkShare, which helps businesses keep trained workers by providing partial unemployment payments to those whose hours are reduced.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
As fraudulent jobless claims pass 50,000, state sets job search deadlines for claimants
The Maine Department of Labor said Thursday that people receiving unemployment benefits soon will have to start looking for work.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Maine cancels thousands more bogus unemployment claims as new filings fall sharply
The state says it canceled $13 million in unemployment benefits as the weekly number of new jobless claims hits the lowest point since the pandemic hit Maine.
Posted inEditorials, Opinion
Our View: Mills shouldn’t keep lawmakers from doing their job
The governor’s response to questions about unemployment benefits echoed her predecessor, and that’s not good.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
Lawmakers furious after Maine’s top labor official fails to attend briefing
Labor and Housing Committee members said it was inexcusable for Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman not to appear and answer questions Thursday, but Gov. Janet Mills said legislative leaders were told last week that Fortman was unlikely to attend.